Switching from postpaid to prepaid meters and electricity consumption in Ghana

IF 3.8 3区经济学 Q3 ENERGY & FUELS

Utilities Policy Pub Date : 2025-04-24 DOI:10.1016/j.jup.2025.101949

Kwami Adanu , Wisdom Akpalu , Eric Kuada

引用次数: 0

Abstract

We investigate the immediate to medium-term effects of switching residential electricity consumers in Ghana from postpaid to prepaid metering at different periods. The study uses covariate matching, propensity score matching, and difference-in-difference estimators. The results indicate that switching consumers from postpaid to prepaid meters reduces average electricity consumption. This decline in electricity consumption is, however, tenuous as it is gradually reversed as the treatment exposure period increases. The results suggest that prepaid metering adoption may increase household electricity consumption if prepaid meters measure consumption more accurately than postpaid meters. The results highlight the need to account for the treatment exposure period in estimating the effect of prepaid meter adoption.

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来源期刊

Utilities Policy ENERGY & FUELS-ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

CiteScore

6.80

自引率

10.00%

发文量

审稿时长

66 days

期刊介绍： Utilities Policy is deliberately international, interdisciplinary, and intersectoral. Articles address utility trends and issues in both developed and developing economies. Authors and reviewers come from various disciplines, including economics, political science, sociology, law, finance, accounting, management, and engineering. Areas of focus include the utility and network industries providing essential electricity, natural gas, water and wastewater, solid waste, communications, broadband, postal, and public transportation services. Utilities Policy invites submissions that apply various quantitative and qualitative methods. Contributions are welcome from both established and emerging scholars as well as accomplished practitioners. Interdisciplinary, comparative, and applied works are encouraged. Submissions to the journal should have a clear focus on governance, performance, and/or analysis of public utilities with an aim toward informing the policymaking process and providing recommendations as appropriate. Relevant topics and issues include but are not limited to industry structures and ownership, market design and dynamics, economic development, resource planning, system modeling, accounting and finance, infrastructure investment, supply and demand efficiency, strategic management and productivity, network operations and integration, supply chains, adaptation and flexibility, service-quality standards, benchmarking and metrics, benefit-cost analysis, behavior and incentives, pricing and demand response, economic and environmental regulation, regulatory performance and impact, restructuring and deregulation, and policy institutions.